


Forge My Soul in the Fire

by ObliqueOptimism



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-15 22:40:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18082295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObliqueOptimism/pseuds/ObliqueOptimism
Summary: There was a rule among the siblings that if you saw Klaus, you had to go say hi to him, so that he didn't think you were another ghost come to haunt him.





	Forge My Soul in the Fire

**Author's Note:**

> title is from klaus' bedroom wall, saw some good photos of all the writing on his bedroom wall an i liked this phrase. had a friend read the fic and give the okay to post. slight warning for overuse of commas and run on sentences but it was the style of writing i was going for?

After Klaus moved out, the first of the living siblings to do so, there was a silent rule in place. No matter what was happening, who you were with, how high he was, if Klaus saw you out and about in the world, you had to stop and say hello to him, you had to touch him, a hand on a shoulder, a high five, a hug, because otherwise he would think you were dead, he would cry out to Ben, sure that you were like Ben and Five (unconfirmed), he would shake his head and murmur “no no no nonono” to himself, it wouldn’t be uncommon for him to fall to the ground as if he was a puppet with the strings hanging by his sides. So you had to say hello. 

.

Then Allison moved across the country, and didn’t have to deal with being with her friends, working on a project, playing a character, on a date, when Klaus would call out her name, voice breaking, her having to rush over to him and give him a hug, whispering in his ear “I’m here, I’m alive, I’m real.” Sometimes after that, he’d wander away, other times he’d apologize for getting her nice, clean, “obviously a costume, you’d never wear this, Allison” dirty. Rarely Allison invited him to be around her for a few hours, until he got himself distracted or the people she was with took her aside and asked why she let the junkie hang out with him, who was he to her?, why does this crazy person keep talking to the air with the same familiarity he does you?

Overall, Allison found it a relief that she had moved away and didn’t have to deal with him, but whenever she was shooting a movie or doing an interview in town, she’d do her best to track him down, so that she could make sure he was alive, just as he would make sure she was alive. 

.

Before Luther took his sabbatical to the moon, as Klaus sometimes called it, he hated meeting Klaus in the real world. Whenever Klaus snuck into the Academy to steal shit, Luther would always pretend he didn’t see Klaus and they didn’t have to through the song and dance. After all, this is where Luther was supposed to be, Klaus figured, if he saw him there, where the demons are, then that’s fine, that’s normal, that’s where Luther willing lives, with the demon called Dad. 

But then Luther did sometimes leave home, and when he did he was usually either to or from a mission, and he didn’t have the time to deal with Klaus, didn’t have the time to stop and deal with proving he was alive, actual lives were at stake an Klaus would have to figure it out for himself. More often than not, Luther would end up sighing to himself, turning around and putting a hand on Klaus’s shoulder “I’m busy, Klaus” and then turn and go back to where he was going, and if he glanced back to see Klaus giving him a little smile and wave, an actual friendly smile, glad that he was still alive? Well, Luther didn’t need to tell anyone how he felt good, knowing that someone was worried for him. He’d wondered a few times if his father cared, the one who put up memorials for the lost children, but had never shown that their deaths mattered to him. 

So that was something that helped make stopping for Klaus worth it, knowing that someone would miss him if he died on a mission.

.

Vanya didn’t stumble upon Klaus often, after she left the house, she didn’t leave her home much. And when she did she didn’t travel out of its range, not going near the seedier parts of town, not going towards the house that she once lived in, not doing whole lot of anything, really. But whenever she stumbled upon him or he stumbled upon her, she was always glad of it. It was some contact, not that she realized at the time how she was craving contact with people, with anyone, even her homeless brother who probably wasn’t really seeing Ben, not when he was high. She knew she was one sibling who didn’t mind when he spoke to Ben, that she understood he was either hallucinating from the drugs, or more likely hallucinating because he was broke, that he figured he should see Ben, he could see the dead, right? And Ben was dead, so he saw a figment of Ben. They’d all decided that long ago, but she was the only one who, when she and Klaus stumbled into each other, she said “Hi Ben” to wherever Klaus looked when he spoke to him.

She’d start with a hug, often taking off her jacket or cardigan or outer layer if she had one, and wrapped it around Klaus’ shivering form. Sometimes he had his own thin jacket, and she would just wrap her own around his, trapping in more heat. The quiet “Oh” he’d say every time would make her frown. Bundling him up, they’d stumble together, going to her home where she made him eat something warm and he’d end up breaking a glass, a bowl, a vase, the second quiet “Oh” of the day would sound, “It’s fine, Klaus, let me clean it up, your hands are shaking.” The third quiet “Oh” as he realized she was right, as she threw away the glass, she knew that was the final thing she’d hear from him in while, as he stumbled out of her home. 

.

“Do you need a ride somewhere?” Diego would always start, with a hand on his shoulder, arm around his shoulders, or bumping their shoulders together. There were three main reasons that Klaus never drove, one was that he was always high or drunk and no one wanted someone like that driving, another was that Klaus had trouble telling if the people crossing the street were alive or dead and would slow down and stop for ghosts to cross the street, and the final reason was that Diego would drive him. Klaus didn’t always take him up on the offer, and Diego din’t always take Klaus where he asked, taking him to rehab instead. If not rehad, he’d take him to a diner, to a house across town, to his place. To the hospital. 

Sometimes Diego would run into Klaus on the street in daylight, in an alley in the dark, under a bridge or next to a dumpster, in an abandoned building that he chased some criminals into. Sometimes Diego saw him being arrested, needing a ride out of the precinct. Sometimes Diego found him because he was listening to the police radio. As far as he knew, he was the only one who actively looked for Klaus. The only one who acted like a taxi for Klaus. The only one who took Klaus to rehab. 

.

One sibling didn’t have the unspoken rule to go to Klaus when you saw him, to stop and say hello to him, you had to touch him, a hand on a shoulder, a high five, a hug, because he was dead. Ben saw how his family would react when they saw Klaus, how Allison would soften and go to him, how Luther would be hesitant before going, how Vanya would put on a brave and strong face, how Diego would shake his head almost sadly but would always be supportive.

Ben could only talk to Klaus. He wouldn’t dare try to touch him, not when he thought about it. Sometimes he would try and be there for Klaus to lean on, but then they would both remember the truth of the situation and turn away from one another for a moment. He couldn’t remind Klaus that he was still alive, but he could remind Klaus that he was there for him, always, not matter what mess Klaus found himself in. Ben hadn’t always been there for him when he was alive and the way he saw it, he had to make up for lost time. Also he loved his brother, his family, and he wasn’t going to give up on him.

.

“Hey, hey, hey little buddy?” Klaus said, putting both hands on Five’s shoulders, whenever Five got lost and he was worried that they were all dead. Oh, Klaus would always think, how the tables had turned. It was a surprising change to be the one saying, “I’m alive. I think? I died a few times but I’m alive now. Right Ben? Ben says yes.” 

Not that Klaus wanted Five to forget his time and place and that his family was alive and well (mostly well), but not only was it nice that he could be the protector for once, but sometimes he, himself, wasn’t sure if Five was really there and alive. Five rarely would notice and comfort Klaus when he wondered if he was finally seeing Five’s ghost, and he wanted to go and confirm that Five was there, solid, grounded. So when he noticed that Five might not blink away when Klaus touches him, he makes sure to be there for his brother. 

Then Five would realize that Klaus wasn’t dead, that he hadn’t died in the apocalypse, that there was no apocalypse, that they had stopped the apocalypse, he would shake himself slightly then respond, “I’m not your little buddy! I’m your older brother, Klaus.”

“When you are in your 58 year old body, how tall are you?” Klaus asked once.

“Five foot ten,” Five frowned, “Why?”

Klaus grinned and booped him on the nose, “I’m six foot. You’ll always be my little buddy!” Cackling, he ran out of the room but Five would be able to catch up to him in a blink.

**Author's Note:**

> my [tumblr](http://obliqueoptimism.tumblr.com/)


End file.
